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The Train has Left the Station: Do Markets Value Intracity Access to Intercity Rail Connections?

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  • Ahlfeldt Gabriel M.

    (London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Geography and Environment, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

Abstract

This paper is the first to provide a micro-level analysis of the impact of intercity rail connections on property prices. We use the variation in mainline accessibility provided by the reorganization of the rail system in post-unification Berlin to isolate accessibility effects from correlated individual location effects. Evidence does not support the existence of localized effects on location productivity and household utility. While the city, since unification, has undergone significant changes in its spatial structure, these effects cannot be attributed to the new transport concept. Our findings question the justification for committing substantial public funds to downtown rail redevelopment projects.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahlfeldt Gabriel M., 2011. "The Train has Left the Station: Do Markets Value Intracity Access to Intercity Rail Connections?," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 12(3), pages 312-335, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:germec:v:12:y:2011:i:3:p:312-335
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0475.2010.00521.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Antonio Estache, 2010. "A survey of impact evaluations of infrastructure projects, programs and policies," Working Papers ECARES 2010_005, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Georgios Kavetsos, 2014. "Form or function?: the effect of new sports stadia on property prices in London," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 177(1), pages 169-190, January.
    3. Gabriel M Ahlfeldt, 2013. "If We Build it, Will They Pay? Predicting Property Price Effects of Transport Innovations," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(8), pages 1977-1994, August.
    4. Li, Chunying & Zhang, Jinning & Lyu, Yanwei, 2022. "Does the opening of China railway express promote urban total factor productivity? New evidence based on SDID and SDDD model," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Felix Richter, 2014. "Winner Picking in Urban Revitalization Policies: Empirical Evidence from Berlin," ERSA conference papers ersa14p1424, European Regional Science Association.
    6. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Wolfgang Maennig, 2011. "Homeownership and NIMBYism: A Spatial Analysis of Airport Effects," SERC Discussion Papers 0085, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M. & Georgios, Kavetsos, 2010. "Form or Function? The Impact of New Football Stadia on Property Prices in London," MPRA Paper 25003, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Martijn Smit, 2017. "Following Your Job," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1718, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2017.
    9. Claudia N. Berg & Uwe Deichmann & Yishen Liu & Harris Selod, 2017. "Transport Policies and Development," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 465-480, April.
    10. Qiao Wang & Xiuyan Liu & Fan Zhang & Tao Hu, 2022. "Subways and the Diffusion of Knowledge: Evidence from China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(4), pages 60-99, July.
    11. Cohen, Jeffrey P. & Schaffner, Sandra, 2019. "A new highway in Germany and the impacts on real estate prices," Ruhr Economic Papers 821, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Property prices; transport innovation; intercity connection; mainline; Berlin;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R0 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General

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